Monday, April 22, 2013

Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cant believe that Scottys coming to Brazil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott I am so happy for you. You are going to love it here. Its going to be way different than Curitiba but its still Brazil. Funny thing is that Elder Eddington totally called that you were going to the Ribeirao Preto mission while we were walking here to use the computer this morning! We freaked out when we saw that its true! And....I didnt cry. I thought that I would but I didnt. Im just so happy that the tears wont come out. Scott, its going to be so hard for me not to see you for almost 4 years but its going to be soooo worth it. I know that you were called by a prophet of God. I felt that the minute that I read your email. I love you man. I cant wait for you to get here and to say that Im not the only one in my family in this country! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And when you get back we will only speak in Portuguese!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry Nat....... Hahahahahahahaha :)

So this week was really good. The work in our area was terrible but some really good things happened. First, we had zone conference. It was so good. And I got back onto Pres. Cordons good side. We had to give a training on the missionary manuel and we talked about this mountain climb and at the very begining I stood up and apologized to everyone for what had happened. I didnt know it but Pres. Cordon was in the back of the room. We gave a really good training and at the end Pres. Cordon thanked me and gave me a huge hug. The coolest part was that at the end, the missionaries that went on the mountain climb all stood up and apologized. They said that it really wasnt my fault and they had to follow my example and apologize. It was really good and actually really spiritual.

At the end of zone conference I got to talk to the missionaries that are in Ahú right now (we had 2 different zones at zone conference) and they said that Oswaldo and Marina are going to be sealed on April 25th!!!!!!!!!!! And they invited me to go. I talked to President Cordon and he said that I need to go. So this Thursday we will spend the day at the temple to watch them be sealed for time and all eternity. I have never seen a live sealing in my life and now the first one that I get to see is of two people that I helped to be baptized. I know that Im going to cry like a little baby.

The work in our area is getting really hard. We pretty much dont have any investigators anymore and no one is letting us into their houses. We are doing a lot of praying and a lot of searching. But things will get better.

I burned my esophagus sooo bad this week. We were eating this little meat things and one was way hot and instead of spitting it out I swallowed it. I felt it burn all the way to my stomache and now when I eat anything it hurts really bad. So I will be eating a lot less for the next few days.

Scotty, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a great last birthday at home! The next one that youll have you will be in Brazil!!! I love you man and Im going to write you a huge letter today. (If I have time) But really. I love you. I cant wait to talk to you on Mothers day and get you all pumped up to come to Brazil. I just started crying haha but I know that you will be a great missionary and the people of Brazil are going to love you.

I hope you all have a great week and I hope you know that Me, Syd, and now Scott were all called by a prophet of God. This is the work of the Lord and I know that there are people in Ribeirao Preto waiting for Scott to share the gospel with them.

I cant believe that Scott is going to get his mission call this week! Thats freakin me out. I would just like you to send me a video of him opening it so that I can feel like I was part of it haha. Now that I have more time to email I will be able to watch it! Scotty, youre the man. One thing that I have learned is that when you get your call, all you read is the very begining and then freak out and scream and cry and forget to read the rest. The first part is important. But the rest is even more important. Its what you are going to be doing for the next two years. And the Lord trusts in you enough to do it well. Youre going to be an awesome missionary and your companions are going to love you. I cant even tell you how sad it makes me to know that I wont be there to see you open your call or send you off but just know that I love you. This is the greatest work on Earth and you are going to learn and grow so much. BE STRONG AND OF A GOOD COURAGE. BE NOT AFRAID NEITHER BE THOU DISMAYED. FOR THE LORD THY GOD IS WITH THEE WITHERSOEVER THOU GOEST. I tell myself that scripture everyday. Be strong Scotty. I love you man.

Well, Im not gonna lie. This week was hard. Its funny how when you are doing well and everything is going right, God sends you something that sends you right back down to your knees. Thats what happened this week. More than once. We were supposed to have Felipes baptism this week but we got there to do the interview and he broke the Law of Chastity the night before so he cant be baptized for at least 30 days. And he fought with his mom so now she doesnt even want us to go back to their house. It was so sad and it killed us. We are also teaching a really good family but we werent able to talk to them this week until Friday night and they said that they were for sure going to church but then they didnt show up or answer the phone. We will go back tonight to see what happened. So those were two things that were really hard this week. The third thing was even harder for me. I was on a division with Elder A. Silva when I got a phone call from my companion and he was not happy. I guess that last transfer a few missionaries went to climb this mountain without permission and Pres. Cordon went to the district meeting and chewed them out. Well, when I got here Elder A. Silva called me and asked me if they could go to climb that same mountain. He told me that it was just a small hill in their area and that they were going with their Branch President. So I said yes without even thinking twice and they went. Well, Elder Eddington called me because Elder A. Silvas companion was showing him pictures of their little outing. So he called me and I had to call Pres Cordon to tell him what had happened. He was in zone conference so I talked to the assistants and they said that he would call back later. And he did. And he was not happy. I have already called Pres. Cordon a lot and he has called me a lot and he has never spoken English with me on the phone. But Friday he spoke very clear English so that he could get his point across. He said that the mountain is very dangerous and that I can never give permission for anything like that. He chewed me out for a long time. Its the first time that I have ever heard him talk like that. It was really hard because it was an honest mistake and I didnt know that that would happen but its something that I have to learn from. I felt like I lost his trust and it literally took me to my knees. It was hard but I did learn one thing. Pres and Sister Cordon really do love and care about us. They look out for us and I know that I can trust them. Sometimes we make mistakes and they correct us. Not because they are mean or anything but because they love us and want us to be safe.

I finished reading the Book of Mormon again this week! I know that it is the word of God and that its our proof that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Its the most correct book on earth. I know that.

Well, now you know how my week was. It was hard but we just gotta keep going and do our best. I know this is the work of the Lord and that he is guiding us through this work.

I love you all and I hope you have a great time with Scott opening his call!Love, Elder Big T.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

What a great week! I loved conference! And I have an announcement! We had the zone leader counsel this week and we spent 1 and a half hours talking about the new emailing rule. End of the story is that we now have an hour and a half to email!!!!!!!!!! Woooooo!!!!!!!! President Cordon didnt want to do it but he did and now I have a little more time to write you all.

This week was great. We had a baptism on the Friday before conference. Her name is Renata and she used to live in Ahú but then got divorced and moved to Boa Vista. Well, all of her kids are baptized and her crazy husband wouldnt let her be baptized. So she ditched him and got dunked! It was really cool. We had to have her baptism on Friday because it was the only day that her mom could come. So we waited for her mom for a while and when I saw her mom i just about cried. Her moms name is Neusa and she lives in Ahú!! She had been baptized a week before I got there and I visited her a lot while I was there. It was so funny to see her there at the baptism. I didnt know that she was Renatas mom until that night! What a small Curitiba world.

We are also going to have a baptism this week! His name is Felipe and hes a 16 year old kid that we talked to in the street. He went to church two weeks ago and he went to conference on Sunday. He lives just with his mom and he has a hard life. But he seems so much more happy now that we have started teaching him. Hes a good kid and even dumped his girlfriend to be baptized haha. He said that she is worthless hahaha I am so excited for him and hopefully his mom will go to his baptism to support him.

I did a division this week just outside of Curitiba and I thought I was going to die. The missionaries live in a house that is infested with spiders. I honestly couldnt get to sleep. I was so scared that I was going to get attacked. There are so many spiders in that house. I dont know how the mission lets them live there but Im glad that its not my area! I guess one of the missionaries got bitten by a brown spider a few months ago and almost died. There are these little brown spiders here that can kill in 24 hours. He got bitten at night on the knee while he was praying and his companion woke up the next morning to see him having a seasure and foaming at the mouth. So.....yeah. Now you know why I couldnt get to sleep. But I made it out of there alive and everything is all good :)

You all know already but conference was amazing. I felt the Spirit so strongly. I know that those men are called of God to lead us in these latter days. The talk that I liked the most was by one of the seventies. I forgot my notes at home but he made this statement, `The Priesthood in the boy is as strong as the Priesthood in the man when excercised in righteousness.´ I loved that one. Its so true. The Priesthood is the same for every man. What matters most is our personal worthiness. I also loved Elder Hollands talk. We just need to have the desire to believe! And......while Elder Oaks was talking, I was sitting right next to his grandson. Yes we are really good friends now. I love that kid!

Well, I hope you all know that I love you so much and that I love being a missionary. On the division this week the missionary that I was with asked me, ´Elder Taylor, do you ever get mad or frustrated?` I laughed and asked him why he asked me that and he said, ´Ive never seen you mad. You always have a smile on your face even when things dont go right.` I told him that we dont have any reason to be mad or sad. We are serving the Lord. We are doing to greatest work on Earth. We get to represent Christ 24/7. How can anyone be sad when they are doing that? I really do love being a missionary. Its hard. It will always be hard. Do you think it was easy for Christ when he was suffering for our sins? No. If it wasnt easy for him then why should it be easy for us? Its hard. But we just gotta keep a smile on our face and `play through the pain.` I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

I cant believe that Scotts papers are going in this week. Im freaking out right now. Really. I dont even know what to think. Scotty, youre going to be a great missionary. I know that it will be really hard not to se you for almost 4 years but itll be so worth it. I love this time out here. I have learned so much. This is a sacred time so take advantage! And....it doesnt matter where in the world you get called. The Lord is preparing people for YOU and only YOU will be able to help them. So, be worthy of the Spirit and do everything you can to love everyone. I love you man.

This week was full of miracles. I have a lot to say so I will just get to it. First, we had a baptism! Her name is Irene and her husband was baptized 8 years ago and now she was finally baptized! It was really good and really spiritual. We also are going to have a baptism this week! On April 6th! We were talking this week and I said that it would be so cool to baptize during conference again and then we got a phone call from the sisters. They siad that they were teaching a lady that actually lives in our area. She came to church yesterday and talked to the bishop and she will be baptized this week! We found two families this week. One is Felipe and Debora. Its a mom and a son and the son went to church and loved it so we went to his house last night and taught his mom. It was so good and they have dates for this month. The other family is Marcos, Janete and Gabriel. They are incredible and will definatley be baptized soon. I really hope they are legally married. BUt they also went to church and we will mark dates with them this week. These two families we found last week and we will be finding more this week.

I am so excited for conference! Its the most wonderful time of the year. And on the mission its even better. Last time I remember that I got really sad on Sunday when it was coming to an end. And now its back! Its amazing how fast time is flying. But I love conference and I am so excited to hear the church leaders!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!! I hope you have a great 56th birthday! I know youre getting old but youll always be young to mom. I love you so much. I know I cant do very much for you on your birthday this year but just know that I will be doing something that is very important. Helping others to return and live with God. THats my birthday present to you this year. I love you dad. Thank you so much for always being an example for me.

Youll never beleive who I did a division with this last week. Elder Dallin H. Oaks grandson!! It was so cool. His name is Elder Oaks (duh) and he is in our zone. I will send you a picture of us together as proof. I told him to tell his grandpa hi for me haha

Well, Im happy as a lark and I am loving my new area. The members are amazing and we are seeing miracles. I love this work and I know that this is the true church of Christ. I love you all so much and I hope you can all feel that.